Large Language Model (LLM) Definition & Examples

Large Language Model (LLM) is a type of artificial intelligence technique that can understand, generate, and manipulate text in a way that is similar to how humans understand and generate language.

What is the training data for LLMs?

LLMs are largely trained on text data from various sources like books, websites, and other resources. The training data is then passed to Generative Pre-Training Transformer (GPT) to generate text that is similar to what they were trained on.

Is Large Language Model (LLM) actual Artificial Intelligence?

No, Large Language Model (LLM) is not actual Artificial Intelligence. It is a type of machine learning technique that is extremely good at framing sentences and generating text that could be a possible answer to a question.

You can test this with different LLMs like Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and many other LLMs. Poorly trained LLMs will generate content that might be completely wrong or make no sense.

How do Large Language Models work?

LLMs work by processing text through layers of neural networks. Here’s a simple breakdown:

  1. The model receives input text
  2. It breaks down the text into smaller pieces called tokens
  3. These tokens move through the neural network layers
  4. Each layer helps understand different aspects of language
  5. The model predicts what words should come next

The LLM race peaked in 2024 with the release of GPT-4o, Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Here are some of the most popular companies building LLMs:

OpenAI

The GPT series, from GPT-2 to GPT-4, has shown increasing capabilities in understanding and generating human-like text. These models power ChatGPT and other applications.

Anthropic

Known for its ability to handle complex tasks and provide detailed, nuanced responses. Claude uses constitutional AI principles for safer outputs.

Google

Google’s latest LLM combines text, code, and multimodal understanding capabilities. It comes in different sizes for various use cases.

Common uses of Large Language Models

LLMs can help with various tasks:

How LLMs are used in Content Creation

LLMs can write SEO-optimized blog posts, create social media captions, draft email newsletters, and generate product descriptions. For example, an e-commerce company might use an LLM to create unique descriptions for thousands of products in their catalog.

How LLMs are used in Code Generation

Developers use LLMs to write boilerplate code, debug issues, and convert code between programming languages. A developer might ask an LLM to “convert this Python function to JavaScript” or “explain what this code does and suggest improvements.”

How LLMs are used in Data Analysis

LLMs can analyze customer feedback, identify trends in support tickets, and summarize long research papers. For instance, a market research team might use an LLM to analyze thousands of customer reviews and identify common complaints or praise.

How LLMs are used in Customer Service

Modern customer service platforms use LLMs to handle common questions, route tickets to appropriate departments, and draft response templates. Some systems can understand customer intent and provide personalized responses based on previous interactions.

How LLMs are used in Document Processing

LLMs excel at extracting information from documents like contracts, resumes, and financial reports. They can summarize key points, identify important dates, and flag potential issues for human review.

You can learn about the Document Data Extraction with LLMs here.

How LLMs are used in Language Translation

Beyond basic translation, LLMs can maintain context and industry-specific terminology when translating business documents, technical manuals, and marketing materials.

Industry-Specific Use Cases of LLMs

How LLMs are used in Healthcare

  • Summarizing patient records
  • Drafting preliminary medical reports
  • Explaining medical terms in simple language
  • Analyzing research papers

How LLMs are used in Finance

  • Analyzing market reports
  • Generating investment summaries
  • Explaining complex financial concepts
  • Drafting regulatory compliance documents
  • Contract analysis
  • Legal research assistance
  • Document summarization
  • Case law research

How LLMs are used in Manufacturing

  • Technical documentation
  • Safety protocol generation
  • Equipment maintenance guides
  • Quality control report analysis

What are the limitations of Large Language Models?

Every technology has its limitations. Here are some of the limitations of Large Language Models:

  1. Knowledge Cutoff: LLMs can only access information up to their last training date.

  2. Accuracy Issues: They can sometimes generate incorrect information that sounds convincing.

  3. Context Window: LLMs can only process a limited amount of text at once.

  4. Cost: Training and running LLMs is expensive.

  5. Environmental Impact: Training LLMs requires a lot of energy.

  6. Bias: LLMs can sometimes generate biased content.

  7. Safety: LLMs can sometimes generate harmful content.

  8. Privacy: LLMs can sometimes generate content that violates privacy.